Defensive-minded Trojan Inks Scholarship

The glue of the Dougherty High School girl's basketball team has found her spot for college.

Shawntal Byrd, along with her trademark defense and distribution, will be making a trip to Alabama. The point guard signed with Alabama Community College Lurlene B. Wallace Friday afternoon.

During the 2011-12 season, Byrd was often placed on the opposing team's top player. Dougherty coach Charlene Jackson explained Byrd's contributions best by referring to the guard "as a gnat always on top of the top players".

While most in Southwest Georgia understand that illustration, Alabama will now get a taste of what Byrd can offer.

"Recently, I had started giving up, but then my coachâ|she brought (the offer) towards me. I sat down and I talked about it, and went for workouts and I made my final decision. I wanted to experience a new life and a new state and just experience different things with different people," Byrd said about her decision.

The Trojan guard graduated from Dougherty with a 3.3 GPA. She plans to continue her basketball career after her two years with the community college.